6999 Forest Clearing

Montane Life Zone, CO 95953

Age 3

Meal: rabbit

Time of year: Summer

Places: shady places

Snack: mice

Time of day: Twilight

No parts of this journal may be copied or reproduced in result you will be punished a VERY sincere two hundred sentence letter explaining what you did wrong also the guilty person will be forced to stay in for ten weeks of recess. Also you will be forced to be Rachel’s server for the rest of the year

© 2008 Tuesday November

© 2008

All rights reserved

Class of 2017

Centennial, CO

Published by Mrs. Jones Publishing Press

Printed 4th grade printer

I have always wanted my obtain journal, and now I possess one I feel ecstatic. I absolutely can’t believe I finally acquire one. Ever since Ollie the otter received one two years ago had been wishing to acquire one. Sly, cunning creatures, that’s how foxes appear in fables and fairy tales but in real life foxes are natural born survivors and able to consume almost anything. Hi I’m Rachael Red Fox and I comprise of vital qualities including numerous hunting skills, exceptional ways of escaping predators, a stunning appearance, and an enormous diet.

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/graphics/redfox7sm.jpg

Me at one year old

http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/imagelibrary/web/340B7921-E88B-785F-2F45448FBCA81A5B.jpg

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/graphics/redfox7sm.jpg

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/800/red-fox-sleeping.jpg

My mom would stay by me and my brother and me for at least nine months before sending us

away.

I always feel warm in the winter

because of me two layers of fur and my

bushy tail!

I sit motionless, waiting silently for my chance to pounce on the unaware fat squirrel. My unique ways of hunting include hunting during all times of year, learning to hunt through play, hunting mainly in night time, and my strange way of catching my prey. I acquire warm fur between my toes so my feet don’t freeze in the winter while I hunt. At about six weeks old my brother (Ralph Red Fox) and I began play-fighting (even though Ralph had been much larger than me I managed to win a few fights!) Our mom supplied us with toys such as feathers, bones and sticks that we practice pouncing on.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3172262/2/istockphoto_3172262-fox-footprints.jpg

Ugg! Not footprint in my new journal! Normally you can see little hairs between my toes.

I have always wanted to be the Colorado state animal, but two things stand in the way, Billy and all of the other animals who want to be the Colorado state animal. I’m way more cute than Billy and I posses better survival skills!

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/graphics/redfox1sm.jpg

I hear the immense Grizzly Bear chasing behind me, I courageously race across the river and through the dense forest at thirty mph, and luckily he couldn’t keep up. In case I am being chased by a predator, I rely on leading the predator through an “obstacle course.” Shortly after the famished predator starts to chase me I head for obstacles such as the river running through the forest, a zigzag through the trees, and a dash through the thickets. Soon the perplexed animal will give up (I know from experience)

My territory stretches for four miles in length, but it’s only a half a mile

long.

I contain several body parts that give me my exquisite appearance, and help me survive, such as my shining coat, fluffy tail, and my petite size. Because of Ralph’s silver-black fur and my reddish brown it seems difficult to tell that we’re siblings. Predicaments similar to ours come frequently with fox families. Despite the name Red Fox we aren’t always red. In many cases we appear in colors like black, gray, silver, and sandy blond.

http://www.grizzlycreekgallery.com/Images/131.jpg

http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/howard.whiteman/field/mammals/red-fox-art-slack.jpg

For some reason I couldn’t find a picture of Ralph and I together so, I took to individual pictures of us both.

About half of my length comes from my tail which not only works well on my appearance but also helps me balance, signal other foxes and works like a blanket just for my nose. When people (and animals) imagine foxes they picture a large red dog much larger than any normal pet, but really we only measure a little bit larger than a basset hound! Most foxes weigh from 7 to 24 pounds, the females seem smaller than males but most are around 83 centimeters in length.

http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/IMAGES/Mississippi/red_fox_pup380.jpg

Aren’t I more adorable than Billy?

I

I did some research and it turns out that I’m actually the state animal for Mississippi, and if I’m wonderful enough to be their state animal I should be an extraordinary Colorado.

I nibble on my freshly caught squirrel, enjoying my savory snack. I devour innumerable different foods using my countless teeth. I use my chisel like front teeth for nibbling on my prey while my back teeth do the grinding and my gagged carnassal teeth shave through flesh.

. Somehow I acquired a photo of Ralph taken last year!

https://r1.dfg.ca.gov/Portal/Portals/12/SNRF/Red_Fox_Black_2003-01.jpg

http://www.livingwilderness.com/wildlife/red-fox-

Today I made a menu of my daily

foods.

Common foods for me include rabbits, squirrels, mice, and other small mammals, but if I’m lucky I’ll be able to catch birds! When I can scarcely discover food, I make my diet out of invertebrates, vegetation and garbage. But this rarely happens because I store any extra food in the snow or dirt.

Menu

Squirrels Mice Rabbit Chipmunks

garbage from the city

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/cheshire/IMAGES/watch_harvest_mice

.jpg Mice are a nice treat but not that

much food

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/

staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/

primary/chipmunk.jpg

Chipmunks seem hard to catch but really all you have to do is wait until they’re off guard.

Today I venture over to the city to eat, and in the I

discovered a badge. Advertizing

some human named ‘McCain’ I decided to make me own badge

similar to that one.

The one I glimpsed at in the garbage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/images_small/fox06_sm.jpg

Often I hear of Bighorn Sheep flaunting about how their the Colorado state animal, but I know that because of my incredible way of catching my prey, useful way of leading my predator through a obstacle course, my elegant tail, and my strong teeth that I have. These perfect qualities to take Billy the Bighorn Sheep’s place as the Colorado state animal!

Bierks, Carrie. "Characteristics of Foxes." Foxes. The New Book of Knowledge, 2008 ed.

Dierks, Carrie. "Foxes." Foxes. The New Book of Knowledge, 2008 ed.http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/redfox.htm

http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/Foxes.htmhttp://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-fox.htm

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/redfox.htmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/

Green, Jen. Red Fox. Danburry, CT: Grolier, 2008.Switzer, Merebeth. Red Fox. Canada: Grolier Limited,

1985.